The memories of the Coppell girls basketball team’s seniors paired with an extremely competitive basketball game on Tuesday at CHS Arena created an incredibly memorable night. Unfortunately for the Cowgirls, Flower Mound Marcus walked away with a 57-35 victory.
As the seniors walked prior to the game towards the backdrop to take photos with coaches and family members, videos of them talking about their favorite moments from the season played on the big screen.
“We had senior night with all the seniors walking out which was really meaningful because they’re not going to be here next year,” junior guard Prisha Kolhe said.
The Cowgirls started the game off strong, with Coppell getting the first steal of the game and sophomore guard Amber Coffey netting the first two points of the game.
Coffey and junior post Lauren Van Pelt, along with junior forward Molly Crawford continued to pummel the ball in the basket, building a five-point lead for Coppell, with the score being at 16-11 at the end of the first quarter.
“I liked our start, that was really good, and I thought we gave ourselves a chance to win early,” Cowgirls coach Kit Pehl said.
Shots consistently kept piling in at the start of the second quarter with Coffey and Kolhe each making big shots.
However, Marcus gained momentum with some strong defense including some key blocks from junior forward Lilah Mauck, which helped them score more points while keeping Coppell’s offense tight throughout the second quarter.
“I feel like we executed really well for a quarter and a half, and I thought the turning point of the game was when offensively, we failed to execute during the second quarter and onwards,” Pehl said. “We kind of lost our groove and struggled to score, while they got hot and that’s why they took it from us.”
Supplied by 3-pointers and active defense, Marcus managed to flip the scoreboard, making it 24-22 at halftime.
“I think we came in underprepared and doubted ourselves for too long which led to Marcus being able to turn the game on us,” sophomore Avary Campbell said.
Marcus widened the gap throughout the third quarter with lockdown defense and a standout performance from sophomore guard Jaeda Ramnanan who put up three 3-pointers and a buzzer beater at the end of the quarter.
Coppell responded with a 3-pointer from Coffey and a fast break layup from junior forward Mallory Cooper to make the game a 42-31 Marcus lead at the end of the third quarter.
Throughout the fourth quarter, Marcus ramped up the pressure and pressed full court as well as double-teamed players on several occasions to force turnovers from Coppell.
In the final quarter, several Marcus players including senior guard Lauren Smith, junior guard Sloane Miller, and Ramnanan, all sealed the win by netting consecutive three-pointers.
The Cowgirls face Allen in the Class 6A bi-district playoffs on Tuesday, at 6 pm at Carrollton Creekview.
“I’m definitely looking forward to Tuesday to rebound back from our three streak loss,” Coffey said.
Follow @SidekickSports on X.
